The Boulder County Coroner’s Office has identified Gregory Coates, 36, as the man who died in a skydiving accident when his parachutes failed to deploy near Vance Brand Airport in Longmont, Colorado. The incident took place on Saturday, January 27, 2024.
Responding to the accident site around 3:27 p.m., Longmont Public Safety said that Coates was skydiving with the Mile-Hi Skydiving Center, a facility known for its skydiving services located at the airport.
Coates, who lived in a mountain community near the Denver Metro area, was wearing a wingsuit during his jump.
A wingsuit is worn to allow skydivers to glide through the air and control their flight by increasing their surface area with fabric wings, although a parachute is still needed for a safe landing.
Preliminary reports suggest that neither Coates’ primary nor his reserve parachutes were deployed before he impacted the ground. This malfunction is the central focus of the ongoing probe.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has joined the investigation, scrutinizing the packing of both the main and reserve parachutes, alongside the compliance of flight rules for the involved pilot and aircraft.
Tony Molinaro, an FAA spokesperson, clarified that while the FAA’s role is to investigate these specific aspects, it will not determine the crash’s cause.
Mile-Hi Skydiving Center, where Coates was a customer, promotes itself as a leading provider of skydiving experiences, emphasizing its commitment to safety and quality service on its website. The company, a proud United States Parachute Association member, claims to offer unparalleled skydiving equipment, instructors, and customer service.
Skydiving carries inherent risks, evidenced by annual fatalities. The FAA notes an “extraordinarily high” annual death toll of 30 to 40 skydivers nationwide. In contrast, the U.S. Parachute Association provides a lower figure, pointing to a decline in skydiving-related deaths over the years, with a 22-year low of 10 deaths in over 3.5 million jumps recorded in 2021.
The Longmont Police Department and the Boulder County Coroner’s Office are collaborating with the FAA to determine the circumstances that led to Coates’s death.
This case marks at least the sixth skydiving fatality linked to Mile-Hi Skydiving since 2018.
